Meet Our Pastor & Assistant Pastor

.Suffragan Bishop Ronald Mathis

Suffragan Bishop Ronald Mathis is married to V. Marilyn Mathis. He is the father of Myra Lynette Mathis-Uwanogho (Obuko Uwanogho) and Ronald Anthony.

He is the pastor of New Beginnings Apostolic Faith Church, Inc. and the president of the corporation, which began in January 2002.

Bishop Mathis received his first ministerial license in 1976 with the House of Prayer, Rochester, NY. As a preacher and teacher of the word of God he has served on various boards and chaired auxiliaries in churches in Rochester. He served under the leadership of Bishop Clarence J. Turner, Christ Temple Church. Bishop Mathis was ordained a minister in 1996 with the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith Assn., Inc. (PCAF) and he was confirmed as Suffragan Bishop in 2016. Bishop Mathis graduated from the three-year Program of Education and Action for Responsible Leadership (PEARL) at Colgate Rochester Divinity School in 1997. He serves as an instructor for the Rochester Institute of Christian Education, teaching Apologetics and Black Church Studies.

Bishop Mathis has a love for God and his fellowman. He has been a blessing to many by using his electrical and other building skills in their homes and churches. He is a member of Rochester's Habitat of Humanity Crew. He delivers bread in the community and reaches out to Rochester’s homeless community. Also, Bishop Mathis is a former Marine and has traveled globally. He has made mission trips to Israel, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

He is the former chairman of the New York, Pennsylvania, and New England States Council. He served as secretary on the Board of District Elders for the PCAF. In July 2017 he was confirmed as a Suffragan Bishop in the PCAF for the NYPANE States Council. He successfully chaired the planning team for the first NYPANE Family Conference which was held August 2016 at the LeTourneau Christian Center in Rushville, NY.

Bishop Mathis has a heart for making disciples. He preaches and teaches the word of God with power. He is called upon to pray, give spiritual guidance, baptize, marry, and bury. 

Pastor V. Marilyn Mathis

Pastor V. Marilyn Mathis, born and raised in Rochester, NY, has served in ministry for over 40 years. Answering the call of the Lord in her early 20s, she worked in the mission field to plant a church in rural Alabama and traveled nationally and internationally as an evangelist. The church is still progressing today. While busy doing the work of the Lord, Pastor Marilyn met and married her husband of 33 years, Suffragan Bishop Ronald Mathis. They are the proud parents of two children: Myra Lynette (Obuko Uwanogho) and Ronald Anthony.

Pastor Mathis was also employed at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School for 15 years as the administrative assistant of the Program of Black Church Studies. Currently, she is the assistant pastor, to her husband who is also the founder of New Beginnings Apostolic Faith Church (Rochester, NY). Pastor Mathis’ ministry spans the gamut; locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. With a heart that is always ready to serve, Pastor Marilyn continues to use her gifts in administration, teaching, preaching, counseling, evangelizing, and pastoring to uplift the Body of Christ. As the director of Christian Education at New Beginnings, she has developed an ordination preparation course, assisting young ministers across the country in successfully completing the Pentecostal Churches of the Apostolic Faith ordination exam. She also hosts a monthly gathering at New Beginnings called the Women’s Mentoring Ministry, which provides a space for women to share honestly about the joys and challenges of life and receive encouragement from one another.

She is the chair lady of the Global Missions Auxiliary of the New York, Pennsylvania, and New England States Council (NYPANE). She has preached in Jamaica and traveled to Malawi, Africa, on a missions trip. Titles and responsibilities aside, Pastor Marilyn does the work of a missionary, praying with the sick, shut-in, and the grieving; sharing food with the hungry, aiding people in need, and giving the truth in love to whomever the Lord places in her path. She stands at a “ready” to do the work of the Lord when duty calls.